Screenshot: Saturday Night Live / NBC

Why did pop star Lizzo change the opening lyrics for “GRRRLS”?

Pop star Lizzo has removed the phrase “I’m a spazz” from her 2022 track “GIRRRLS” and replaced it with “hold me back” – after realizing spaz is a derogatory term for spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. “I never want to promote derogatory language,” she wrote in a public apology on June 13, 2022. “As a fat black woman in America, I have had many hurtful words used against me, so I understand the power words can have.” The track will be part of Lizzo’s upcoming album Special, released in July.